By Jacob Mchangama In 1649, a group of English radicals sent a petition to the House of Commons. In it, they lamented the licensing of printing — which allowed the government to “pre-censor” books and pamphlets — as well as the harsh punishments for publishing unlicensed or “scandalous” ones. The radicals warned that this kind […]
By Andrew Tettenborn Depressingly few people care about the right to free speech these days. Pressure groups, ranging from uncompromising Islamists through trans activists to Palestinian hardliners, relentlessly demand more and more curbs on our right to say what offends them; experts clamour for the right to censor what we see to save us from […]
By Conor Friedersdorf American officials are waging a multifront attack on Europe’s approach to free speech. This month, a congressional delegation traveled to Dublin, Brussels, and London to probe and decry European regulations on digital speech. A State Department human-rights assessment issued last week pointed to objectionable “restrictions on freedom of expression” in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. All of […]
By J.D. Tuccille Last week, while visiting the U.K., United States Vice-President JD Vance warned Foreign Secretary David Lammy that his country’s government shouldn’t proceed down the “very dark path” of restricting speech. This week, the U.S. State Department released its latest reports on human rights practices around the world, calling out several European countries, particularly France, Germany, and […]
By Joan Barata When we talk about minors and media and communication platforms—and here we can include both traditional media such as radio and television, and even cinema, theater, social networks, messaging systems, and video-sharing platforms—the general tendency, from a political and legal perspective, is to adopt a defensive stance or one of protecting the […]
By Jacob Mchangama Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went on X to announce the immediate revocation of the visa of Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, as well as “his allies on the court [and] their immediate family members.” What drove Rubio to take such a drastic step against leading members of the […]
Photo Credit: Senado Federal By Alexander Barroso The latest ruling by Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has reignited a heated debate about the limits of freedom of expression and the role of justice in Brazilian democracy. On the 21st, Moraes ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro is prohibited from giving […]
By Erich Thomas Mafra The global decline in freedom of expression isn’t limited to authoritarian states, but is also affecting established democracies. This assertion comes from one of the world’s most respected voices on the topic of freedom of expression: Danish lawyer Jacob Mchangama . According to him, “democracies are increasingly restricting freedom of expression. […]
By Natalie Alkiviadou In a series of guest blog posts at The Volokh Conspiracy, Natalie Alkiviadou summarized key ideas in her new book, Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights. Part 1: Hate Speech and The European Court of Human Rights: An Overview of My New Book July 15, 2015 The European Court […]
Photo Credit: Palácio do Planalto By Fernanda Trompcynski Last week, the global debate over freedom of expression took on even more serious and worrying dimensions. US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of a 50% tariff on imports of all Brazilian products, generating concerns about the national economy, as the US is Brazil’s second-largest trading […]